'Stranger Things' Plagiarism Lawsuit Will Head to Trial

Last year, filmmaker Charlie Kessler accused Matt and Ross Duffer of stealing his idea to create their hit Netflix series Stranger Things. The brothers responded, claiming the accusation was "completely meritless," but a judge disagrees. Now, the case will head to trial.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Los Angeles Superior Court denied summary judgment to the Duffer brothers, meaning this will now go to court.

Kessler claims that he pitched the Duffer brothers on an idea for a show called The Montauk Project while meeting with them at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2014. The Duffer brothers did not show any interest in the project, but then initially pitched Stranger Things under the name Montauk.

"The Duffer Brothers have our full support," a Netflix spokesperson said. "This case has no merit, which we look forward to being confirmed by a full hearing of the facts in court."

Kessler's attorney Michael Kernan responded, "Now that the Judge has ruled and denied their motion for summary judgment, we can now dispense with the nonsense promoted by the Duffers and Netflix that this lawsuit has no merit, and that they had 'proof' that they created the show. If the lawsuit had no merit, or if they actually had the 'proof' they created it, then their summary judgment would have won. They lost. These motions are very hard to fight and winning this Motion shows Mr. Kessler has a good case. We look forward to proving Mr. Kessler's case at trial."